


Hard Knocks

by A Melon Most Bitter (Darwise)



Category: HEARTBEAT (Video Game)
Genre: Family Bonding, Family Drama, Gen, Unapologetically Non-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 12:54:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21054743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darwise/pseuds/A%20Melon%20Most%20Bitter
Summary: You don't grow to be a responsible adult without hitting a few snags along the way. June, Ann, and the off-kilter friendship that sustained them through the best and worst of times. Takes place before the main story of HEARTBEAT. Rated M for kids being little impulsive jerks, strong language, teenage angst, adult conversations, and substance abuse.





	Hard Knocks

The first time that June and Ann meet is a surprisingly violent affair that sets the tone of their relationship for most of their natural lives. It's summer time in Neo Awlins, and the family reunion at Papillion Park is in full swing.

At age eleven, Ann Galliard is already 'totally over' the concept of doing any kind of bonding with her snobby relatives, and as soon as her parents leave her to her own devices, she quickly leaves the generously sized space that the Sanjos (and their ridiculous bankroll) have rented out, and wanders over to a small grassy hill with a modest sized tree on top that overlooks a river bank that runs through the park. There's a strong breeze blowing, and her denim jacket and (fashionable but expensive, and rather impractical) pre-ripped jeans are probably going to stain, but some mild discomfort is a small price to pay for a brief respite from her family.

When she reaches the top of the hill, she flops down onto the grass and pulls her phone from her back pocket. A couple of swipes and a tap later, and Ann lays back on the grass to cloudgaze while the sounds of Ur Chain Reaction's newest hit single fills the surrounding air. She was still grounded on account of last week's fight at school, and her headphones were among the first things to be confiscated. In truth, the only reason Ann had been dragged along in the first place was because neither one of her parents trusted her enough to leave her alone with full run of the house for more than three days. At least here, away from everyone else, she could blast music from her phone's speakers without getting into any more trouble. After a few tracks finish playing, she rolls her head to the side to keep her neck from getting stiff.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a girl that looks to be nearly half her age standing at the bottom of the hill, and looking up at her. She's dressed in pink high-top sneakers, grey leggings, and a navy blue long-sleeve dress with a picture of a cartoony-looking Rakshasa on the front. Her eyes are obscured by a pair of black glasses with thick lenses, and her black shoulder-length hair is streaked with glitter and hair stickers. Absentmindedly, Ann wonders which is worse: the fact that this kid clearly dresses herself in the dark, or the fact that her parents were mean-spirited enough to let her out of the house looking like that. Her interest wanes, and she goes back to shuffling through her playlist, staring up at the sky, and nodding her head in time with the beat of the song.

At least until the whir and click of a camera shutter goes off next to her ear.

"Wuh! What the heck?!"

She scrambles to her feet, and looks over in the direction of the offending sound. Standing just a couple of feet away from her, is the same girl from a few moments ago. Somehow, she managed to climb the hill without making any noise. In front of her face is a plastic camera strapped to a lanyard around her neck. As she pulls the camera away, Ann makes to lock eyes with her; she's close enough now that she can see the big purple eyes shining with curiosity behind the frame of her glasses. The girl cheerfully waves a hand.

"Hiiii!"

And Ann promptly turns around and starts walking back down the hill. The last thing she wants right now is to be a babysitter.

A second later, and she can hear the telltale shuffle of crunching grass behind her. She turns around, and the girl is right behind her wearing an ear to ear grin.

"Hiiii!", She greets again.

Ann stares back at her, completely unmoved by her cheer.

Ann sucks her teeth and continues to walk, stopping to turn around yet again when she hears the girl resume her pace behind her.

"Can't you take the hint, kid? Go away, you're harshing my vibe."

The younger girl places her hands on her hips, and pouts. Despite her tiny stature compared to Ann, her voice is loud, and very direct.

"Hey! My mom says that it's rude not to say hi when people say hi to you!" She stares at her expectantly, and even though she has both the height and age advantage, Ann's can't bring herself to argue that point. The kid's got her dead to rights.

Secretly grateful that none of her friends will ever know, she gives in to the little girl's demands, and waves at her.

"Hi." She says the words through gritted teeth, but that's more than good enough for the girl who starts to jump in place, clapping and giggling like she's just eaten two big bowls of sugary cereal.

"Huhuhuhuhu! I made a big kid do what I said!"

Ann rolls her eyes, then turns to head back up the hill once again. It's obvious enough that this little joy goblin isn't going to go away anytime soon, so she may as well get comfortable. Sure enough, as she starts moving, the girl is walking right beside her.

"Where're we goin'?"

Ann groans.

"I'm gonna go sit under that tree."

"Why?"

_Oh geez, here we go..._

"Because I'm bored."

"Why are you bored?"

"Because I don't want to be here right now."

"Why?"

"Because my family sucks eggs."

The younger girl gasps, clearly scandalized by Ann's words.

"That's... that's not nice! You shouldn't say bad stuff like that!"

They near the tree, but rather than sit down this time, Ann leans back against the trunk and folds her arms across her chest. A part of her likes the attention the kid is giving her, so she may as well try to lean into the 'aloof kid' role a little harder.

"Oh yeah? Why?"

A smirk crosses her face as she watches the girl's face go from shocked, to confused, to pouty again. She must not be used to having her tactics thrown back at her. She goes quiet for a moment, then gets a thoughtful look on her face, before beaming ear to ear again.

"Mom always buys me toys, an' teaches me stuff! My sis is always really nice to me too! She plays with me when mom isn't around, an' she even lets me decorate my hair!"

She says it like it's the be all, end all answer to the question, but the response drastically sours Ann's mood. She doesn't have any siblings of her own to share experiences with, and the only attention her own parents ever care to give her anymore is nothing but criticism for her choice in friends, clothing, and just about anything that she likes. Seeing this little girl so happy with her own family life sparks something ugly and very, _very_ mean-spirited hidden deep inside of Ann, and within that moment, she makes it her personal mission to knock this kid down a peg.

"Who cares?!"

She jabs a finger into the girl's chest, and she yelps as she stumbles onto the grass. The girl tries to get up, but Ann shoves her roughly onto her back. The girl's glasses fly off her face, and land somewhere just out of reach. She looks up towards Ann with big purple eyes full of unshed tears. Her lower lip is quivering ever so slightly, and she's fighting back a sniffle as she picks herself up.

"Owww..."

"If you're sister is such hot stuff, why don't you go bug her instead of me, you stupid kid?!"

"I j-j-j-j-j-just thought you l-l-l-l-"

The girl starts crying, and Ann rolls her eyes as she blubbers over her words.

"You l-l-looked sad up here... an sis says you should always be nice to people an' cheer them up when they're sad cause you don't know what they're goin' through..."

Unconsciously, Ann clenches her fists at her sides. If there's one thing that she hates more than anything, it's other people looking down on her... and despite coming from a place of kindness, the girl's words set her off in a bad way.

"Shut up and mind your own business! You sister's stupid, and doesn't know what she's talking about!"

"Take that back!"

The reply is instant, and Ann is more than a little surprised by the amount of steel in the girl's voice. Her face has hardened up, and she stands up on her tip toes, trying in vain to match Ann in height.

"I mean it! Take back what you said about sis, or else!"

"Or else what, shrimp?"

Ann knows it's in really bad taste to pick on someone smaller than you, but in the moment, all of the pent up frustrations stewing at the back of her mind cloud her judgement.

Without even really thinking about it, she snatches the lanyard from around the girl's neck, and holds the camera up over her head, just out of reach. All of the girl's bravado crumbles away in an instant, and she flails her arms trying to get it back.

"Noooo! Give it back! Give iiiiiit!"

"Naaah."

She winds an arm back, and pitches the camera up into the tree above them. It smacks against several of the branches on the way down until the lanyard gets caught on one them. The girl's reaction is frantic. She screams and hollers as she tries to hit Ann, but her small frame isn't strong enough to do anything more than move her backwards by a couple of inches.

But when Ann tries to push her again, the girl latches onto her arm and bites down with the force of a dozen angry Cu Sith.

"Aaaaaaaaaaagh! Get off me!"

Rather than stop, the girl only bites down even harder, causing Ann to howl in pain. The girl flails her arms, and an open palm catches Ann right in the eye, causing her to curse loudly.

"**You little shit!**"

With her free arm, she cocks back and punches the girl square in the face as hard as she can. The moment her fist connects, she feels something crunch underneath her knuckles. The girl lets go immediately, and clutches at her face as she curls into the fetal position on the grass. The sounds that she makes are wet, ugly, wheezing groans of pain mixed with thick sobs.

Once Ann takes a step back and sees the large amount of blood dripping down from behind the girl's hands, regret and self-loathing quickly set in as she realizes that she just broke some little kid's nose for being friendly. A sudden breeze blows the camera out of the tree. It lands in the grass by her feet, and on a whim she picks it up. Taped to the bottom of the camera is a label with the words "Property of June Sanjo" printed in a bold font.

"...What?"

Time slows down to a crawl, and Ann breaks into a cold sweat as she looks over towards the girl again, her regret quickly being replaced by fear.

She's just beaten up her little cousin.

"Oh crap..."

_During a family reunion._

"Oooooh crap!"

** _Being hosted by said cousin's family._ **

"Crapcrapcrapcrap! I messed up..."

She begins pacing back and forth, muttering several curses under her breath. If either of their parent's find out what happened just now, she'll be lucky if she's only grounded until she's eighteen. Rather than being driven by familial concern, the only thing that motivates Ann's course of action in the moment is nothing more than pure self-preservation. She places the camera on the ground and hurries next to June's side.

"Move your hands for a sec."

She kneels down, and grabs her by the wrists. She wails, and clenches her hands together even tighter.

"Seriously. Move your hands and lemme see, you're bleeding really bad!"

"Wauuhghuuu..."

June whimpers pitifully, but relents to her request. Ann winces as she looks over the damage: The swelling is heavy, and all of the skin around her nose has changed colors to a nasty looking purple. The bridge is bent, and blood is still pouring out in a thick stream. There's no way she's about to move her until that bleeding slows down a bit.

"Awwww crap! Okay, okay... lemme think."

Ann looks down at her designer shirt, and sighs. She'd saved up her allowance for two months just to afford this... but really, what's two month's allowance down the drain versus never getting an allowance again?

"Tch. This is gonna suck..."

She grabs the bottom of her shirt, and pulls as hard as she can until a handful of the fabric gives way. She bunches it up into a small wad, then gently holds it up to June's nose.

"Here. Lean forward, but don't press too hard."

Her younger cousin looks back up at her with fear and distrust in her eyes, and Ann really can't blame her for the skepticism.

"Look, I fu- I messed up. I'm sorry. I won't hit you again, I swear. Just... lean forward? Please?"

"Muh thisther..."

_Seriously... even now, she's still stuck on that?_

"I'm sorry about what I said about your sister, okay?"

June's eyes brighten up at the (half-hearted) apology, and she slowly moves her nose towards the cloth in Ann's hand. Her eyes scrunch up in pain, but she doesn't flinch away as she applies a small amount of pressure. She takes one of June's hands, and places it on the cloth.

"Hold that there, I'm gonna go get your glasses."

"Nuuhhh, dun leab!"

June throws the side of her head across Ann's chest, and a large smear of blood stains her shirt. She grimaces, but doesn't push her away. She sits down on the grass, careful not to jostle her cousin too much.

"It'hs uhkay, dere fake anuwuy..."

"...Why would you wear fake glasses?"

June shrugs, but doesn't say anything. Her eyes dart around until they focus on the camera on the ground near Ann's leg. She reaches for it, and manages grab the lanyard with the tips of her fingers. She squeals in joy as she pulls it towards her, dropping the cloth, and prompting another gush of blood to spill from out of her nose.

"Quit moving around! You're getting blood all over me!"

"Thowwy..." June hugs the camera to her chest, smiling earnestly beneath a layer of dirt, tears, and blood. Ann can only stare down at her in disbelief.

_She's got a broken nose, and the only thing she's worried about is her camera?_

"...Does it hurt?"

June looks at her in quiet contemplation (about what, Ann has no clue), then nods her head rapidly before stopping to point up at Ann's face.

"Uh-huh... buh whuh uhbouht yuh?"

"...What about me?"

"Yuh eye'th wollen..."

Carefully, Ann touches her pointer finger to the side of her left eyelid, then hisses as a flash of pain catches her off-guard. She looks at her finger, and is shocked to see a bit of blood on it.

"Argh! Geez... you hit pretty hard for a little kid..."

"Hehehee... ow!"

June winces from her own wound. The two fall into a odd sort of silence. Not uncomfortable... just weird. Neither one really knows what to say to the other, but any bad feelings that they might have felt towards one another in the moment have been put to the side. Another breeze blows in, and June shivers against her. Wordlessly, Ann takes off her jacket and drapes it over her younger cousin. She rips another piece of her shirt, and replaces the blood soaked piece of cloth with it. Her entire midriff is showing, but she pushes away her embarrassment. It's not like there's anyone but them here anyway.

June looks up at Ann gratefully, and snuggles in close to her.

"Thanks... you're really nice."

The guilt from earlier returns twofold, but Ann does her best not to let it show on her face.

"...It's not a big deal. Sound's like you're talking a little better now. How's the bleeding?"

June pulls the cloth away from her face. The stream has slowed down to a light trickle.

"It's a little better."

Ann nods, but doesn't make any moves to get up. She knows that she really should go get help, and she's long past caring about any punishment her family might dish out, but More than anything, she's curious about the girl on her lap that doesn't seem to have a single mean-spirited bone in her body. It's the first time that Ann has ever met someone like her, and it's difficult for her to wrap her head around it.

"I saw your name on the camera. June, right? I'm Ann."

She offers June her hand, and her cousin eagerly shakes it.

"Hehe... Lookit, we're blood sisters now!"

Ann is about to ask what she means, but when she pulls her hand away from June's and finds it slick with blood, she understands all too late.

"Ewww, gross!"

She wipes a hand on her pant leg, then bites back a curse when she realizes her mistake. That's probably not gonna come out in the wash... She sighs, and June lets out another fit of giggles.

"How do you even know what bloo- you know what? Never mind, I don't even wanna know. Beside... we can't be blood sisters."

At this, June stops laughing. A thoughtful look crosses her face, and Ann can see the gears turning in her head.

"Why not?" Her question is innocent enough, but something about her tone makes Ann uneasy.

"...Because we're already related; I'm your cousin."

"Yeah? Well, I like blood sister better."

"You already _have_ a sister."

"But not a_ blood sister!_"

Ann pinches the bridge of her nose, and inhales through clenched teeth.

"Tch. Fine. Whatever. We're blood sisters; happy now?"

"It doesn't count if we don't swear on it! We gotta make a blood oath! Do it, an' I won't tell my mom that you broke my nose!"

The murderous glare that Ann sends in June's direction is fierce enough that it would make even a grown adult fearful for their safety. Her little cousin offers her little more than a smug grin, and in that moment Ann realizes that there is absolutely nothing she can say or do to intimidate this girl anymore. The blackmail against her is too strong, and as much as she hates to admit it, she's just been played hard.

_...Swear on it, huh?_

"Fine... if you really want me to swear on it-"

"I do!"

Ann flicks a finger against June's head, but it only causes her to giggle even more.

"Hehehehee!"

"Don't interrupt me. Now like I was saying: If you really want me to swear on it, you have to tell me what it is you want."

June makes a show out of appearing to think hard about it. She 'Hmmmm's' and 'Hrmmmm's' for almost an entire minute, and only when Ann is a few moments away from adding a broken arm to her rap sheet does she finally give her an answer.

"I want you... to be my best friend forever!"

Ann's mouth gapes open. It's the very last thing that she expected to hear, and she's at a total loss on how to respond.

"...What? Are you screwing with me right now? That's all you want?"

"Yup!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Are you gonna be my friend or not?"

Ann throws her hands up in frustration. None of June's reactions make any sense to her, and the idea that her cousin is genuine in her request only frustrates her even more.

"Don't you have friends your own age?"

June shakes her head, and her smile shrinks down to a thin line.

"Not really. Everyone just takes my stuff."

"...What do you mean by that?"

June slides off of Ann, and pulls her knees up to her chest. She looks over towards the reunion in the distance, and sighs.

"I started first grade this year, an' everyone was really nice... but then mom came to show an' tell, an' everyone started bein' weird."

She sucks her teeth before she continues.

"My first friend said her parents said that she wasn't allowed to play with a rich kid. An' everyone else stopped talkin' to me until I started givin' my toys away."

"That's stupid! Why would you do that if you know they're just using you?!"

"It's better than bein' ignored all day."

It's a loaded statement, and Ann has no clue how to even approach it.

"...Why me?"

June shrugs.

"I told you already. I saw you sittin' up here by yourself, an' you looked like you could use a friend too."

"...Oh."

It's all that Ann can think to say. Her guilt won't allow her to say anymore. Not even twenty minutes ago, she was every bit as jealous as the people her cousin just described, but she never stopped to think about just how isolating that could be for someone.

Slowly, she wraps an arm around June's shoulder, and pulls her in close.

"...June?"

"Hmmm?"

"...I don't know if you believe me, but I'm really sorry I did all that stuff to you."

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it. You're a nice person! You wouldn't be here right now if you weren't!"

The statement makes Ann flinch. She'd been called a lot of things over the years, (_bratty, irresponsible, selfish, short-tempered, an embarrassment_) but 'nice' had never been in anyone's description of her until today.

She does her best to fight back the tears stinging her eyes.

"Why're you crying?"

Ann shrugs, and the tears stream down her face.

"I dunno."

It's the truth. She doesn't know why.

"...Do you want a hug? My sis always gives me hugs when I'm sad."

She doesn't even bother to fight back her sobs as she nods. A pair of small arms wrap themselves around her waist and squeeze tight, and Ann squeezes back.

"I'm sorry!" Her voice comes out in a pathetic squeak as she holds onto her little cousin. She repeats her apology, over and over until her voice is hoarse. All the while, June holds her as close as she can. Wanting nothing more than to make her new best friend feel better.

"It's okay.", She murmurs. "It's okay."

They sit together in silence until both of their parents come looking for them. True to her word, June doesn't rat her out, but instead, spins an elaborate story in real-time about how she and Ann fell while climbing the tree. Her mother thanks Ann profusely for staying with her, then scoops her daughter up to take her straight to the hospital.

She doesn't see her younger cousin again for the remainder of her stay in Neo Awlins.

They never did get to swear an oath.

* * *

The boat trip back home to Piecewood is long and boring, and all Ann can think about the entire time is if her cousin is okay. Her father opens the door to her cabin, and makes himself comfortable on the edge of her bed. She's so out of sorts that she doesn't even complain about him barging in without knocking.

"Do you have a minute to talk Ann?"

She shrugs absentmindedly, and her father wags a finger at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Speak when you're spoken to, you being _incredibly_ rude right now."

"...Sorry dad."

Her father opens his mouth, but pauses.

"...Did you just apologize?"

Ann nearly shrugs again, then thinks better of it. She nods, and sighs.

"Yes dad, I did in fact, apologize." The sarcasm in her voice is thick, but her father lets it slide just this once.

"My goodness, I guess this trip was the change of pace you needed then! Anyway, I just got off the phone with your aunt Ki. Apparently, her younger daughter wanted to give you her phone number, but I told her that it was probably a mistake of some so-"

"You have June's number?!"

The way she cuts him off is nothing like the dispassionate daughter he's grown accustomed to dealing with, and while he doesn't appreciate the lack of manners, he's just happy to see her excited about something again.

"...You do realize she's only six, right?"

"Yes? And?"

"Isn't that a little... I don't know... strange? You're usually so hung up on trying to be mature for your age... Did something happen that we should know about?"

Ann rolls her eyes.

"Noooo dad, we just started talking at the reunion, and well... we really get along. Can I have her number? Please?"

"...Well, your aunt is fine with it... but before I hand it over, I need you to promise me something."

"Anything, dad!"

He pulls a scrap of paper out of his pocket, and places it in Ann's hand.

"Just keep in mind that your cousin is at a very impressionable age. so if you two are going to be friends... please, promise me that you'll try to set a good example for her. She's a very sweet girl."

Ann nods, and a warm smile takes hold of her face as pulls out her phone and saves the number in her contacts under the label 'BFF'.

"...Yeah, she is pretty nice, isn't she?"

Her finger hits the dial button, and she places the phone to her ear.

**Author's Note:**

> “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” ~Albert Schweitzer


End file.
